- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov have begun their meeting at the President Wilson Hotel in Geneva.
- Before the meeting, the two expressed reservations about expectations for concrete results of the meeting.
- The two ministers wanted to express themselves in separate press conferences after their meeting.
Antony Blinken said before the crisis meeting that he did not expect the differences to be resolved in the talks. «This is a critical moment. You’re right: we don’t expect to be able to resolve our differences here today,” said Blinken. However, the United States remained committed to diplomacy and dialogue. Further aggression by Russia against Ukraine must be prevented.
During a visit to Berlin on Thursday, Blinken made it clear that any border crossing by Russian troops into Ukraine would constitute aggression for the United States. Such an incident would provoke a “swift, serious and joint response” from the Western Allies. The Allies are determined to do this, Blinken confirmed on Friday in Geneva.
Lavrov dampens hopes
At the same time, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also dampened hopes of an early relaxation in relations with the West. He does not expect a breakthrough in the upcoming talks, Lavrov said in advance.
Legend:
Handshake in Geneva: Antony Blinken and Sergey Lavrov greet each other before the start of the talks at the Hotel President Wilson.
Reuters
According to a media report, the Russian government is expecting a written response from the USA to the conditions it has set in the coming week. This is reported by the Interfax news agency, citing Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.
Russia has massed around 100,000 soldiers on the border with Ukraine, but rejects the accusation that it is preparing an invasion of the former Soviet republic. The West has repeatedly warned that an invasion of Ukraine would have serious political and economic consequences. The government in Moscow is demanding security guarantees, such as NATO’s commitment that Ukraine will not be admitted to the alliance. NATO rejects this with reference to the right of states to self-determination, but has not yet shown Ukraine any concrete prospects of accession.